Job Title: Scrum Master
Term: 12 months
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Reports to: Technical Program Manager
Level: Intermediate/ Senior (4-8 years of relevant experience).
Key Responsibilities
Facilitate and coordinate Scrum ceremonies (Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, Retrospective) with clear agendas, time-boxing, and documented outcomes (decisions, risks, actions, owners, due dates).
Own and maintain the team's delivery metrics dashboard (sprint velocity, burndown/burnup, defect rates, cycle time, cumulative flow), surfacing trends and escalating concerns to the TPM.
Actively identify, track, and remove constraints blocking squad members from delivering sprint goals; escalate cross-organizational blockers to the TPM within agreed SLAs.
Coach squad members and relevant stakeholders on agile principles, Scrum practices, and delivery best practices, progressively building internal agile capability.
Facilitate cross-squad coordination where multiple technical work streams (Backend, Frontend, API, Data) have interdependent sprint commitments.
Support knowledge transfer by ensuring that process documentation, decision logs, and sprint artefacts are maintained in the agreed shared workspace.
Report on delivery health metrics at fortnightly steering cadence, partnering with the TPM for programme-level reporting.
Measurable Outcomes & Deliverables
First 30 Days
Attend all Scrum ceremonies and produce baseline assessment of ceremony health, compliance, and documentation gaps.
Own the delivery metrics dashboard and report on velocity, burndown, defect rates, and cycle time and report any present gaps.
Produce a cross-squad dependency register across Backend, Frontend, API, and Data workstreams.
Confirm fortnightly steering cadence with the TPM and key stakeholders.
Days 31–60
Sprint velocity stabilizing; at least two consecutive sprints with 80% sprint goal achievement.
DoD compliance rate tracked and reported; 90% of completed stories meet DoD criteria.
Backlog health confirmed: two sprints of stories refined and sprint-ready at all times.
At least one agile coaching session delivered to client counterparts or junior squad members.
Delivery metrics dashboard live and shared with TPM and stakeholders.
Days 61–90
Retrospective improvement actions tracked; demonstrable improvement in at least two delivery metrics since sprint 1.
Agile maturity assessment (informal) of squad completed; coaching plan for remaining engagement period produced.
All sprint ceremonies running to time and rated as useful by squad members (informal pulse check).
Knowledge transfer - one squad member or stakeholder who has visibly adopted improved Scrum practices through coaching
Ongoing KPIs
Enable the squad to consistently achieve agreed sprint goals through effective planning and execution.
Ensure stories meet the agreed Definition of Done before acceptance.
Proactively identify, escalate, and facilitate resolution of delivery blockers and dependencies.
Maintain a healthy, prioritized backlog that supports upcoming sprint planning and delivery.
Drive continuous improvement by facilitating effective sprint ceremonies and retrospectives and ensuring agreed improvement actions are followed through.
Stakeholders & Ways of Working
Agile Ceremonies Owned: Sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives, backlog refinement.
Reporting Cadence:
Fortnightly delivery health summary to TPM.
Sprint metrics dashboard updated at end of each sprint.
Ad-hoc impediment escalation to TPM as required.
Cross-Functional Touchpoints:
All squad roles (API Engineer, Backend, Frontend, Data Scientist, UI/UX Designer).
Product Owners and stakeholders attending sprint reviews.
TPM for programme-level dependency and risk alignment.
Required Skills & Experience
4–8 years of experience in Scrum Master or agile delivery roles, with at least 2 years in technology delivery environments.
Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), or equivalent certification required.
Proven ability to facilitate agile ceremonies for cross-functional technical teams, including engineers, data scientists, and designers.
Experience tracking and improving delivery metrics (velocity, cycle time, burndown, DoD compliance).
Strong coaching and facilitation skills; ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to identify and remove impediments at both team and organizational level.
Experience working in embedded client-side or consulting delivery contexts preferred.
Familiarity with backlog management tools (Jira, Azure DevOps, or equivalent).
Understanding software development lifecycle (SDLC), including testing, integration, and release processes.
Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills
SAFe Agilist or equivalent scaled agile certification.
Experience in fintech, payments, or mobile money delivery environments.
Familiarity with Kanban or hybrid Scrum/Kanban delivery models.
Prior experience embedding within a client organisation in a consulting or secondment capacity.
Experience facilitating agile transformations or team capability-building programmes.
Exposure to API integration, backend, or data science delivery workstreams.
Tools & Technologies
Backlog and sprint management: Jira / Azure DevOps / equivalent
Documentation and knowledge base: Confluence / SharePoint
Communication: Microsoft Teams
Metrics and reporting: Jira dashboards / Excel / Azure DevOps dashboards
Retrospective facilitation: Miro or equivalent
Collaboration: Miro / Mural / equivalent virtual whiteboard
Originally posted on Himalayas